Recognizing how colonialism has affected education has allowed us to realize the importance of the role that education plays when it comes to language; and especially in maintaining one’s mother tongue. The impact education has on language is one that cannot go unnoticed, whether that is in the sense of losing the want and ability to fluently speak your mother tongue, or whether that is through the perspective of strengthening the language most rely on: English. We chose to delve deeper into the topic and question of how colonialism impacted education, and how that creates language barriers. The relevancy of this subject is clearly portrayed through our first-hand experiences in our daily lives, and that is throughout our education, in both high school and university, but also through our everyday conversations. We analyzed the extent to which Arab students studying in American Universities are affected by Westernized education and modes of teaching, whilst also focusing on their loss of ability to fluently speak their mother tongue.
Through our personal points of view, language carries great importance, as it is what shapes and determines our identities. For instance, you would immediately recognize an Arab person if they were to converse with one another in Arabic, but perhaps not so much if they were to speak in English. Unfortunately, even though our native language is Arabic, we all came to realize that, day by day, our fluency is worsening whilst our English continues to improve. We came to find that this is largely due to the role that education plays in our lives, and our understanding of this became even more clear when focusing on readings revolving around colonialism. Neha Vora’s book, Teach for Arabia, is a great example of the above, as it is based in Education City in Qatar, and her writing supports our ideas when she says, “the texts themselves are written in English, most often published in the United States, and reflecting Euro-American disciplinary conventions, were usually geared towards American audiences with unconscious familiarity in American Cultural norms” (Vora, 2018, p. 56). This suggests how the authors of these books we are assigned to read are unlikely to consider us Arabs as part of their audience, similar to how fans sitting in the back rows of concerts are treated in comparison to those with VIP tickets, who in this case, are the European or American readers. For instance, La Paperson’s description of Westernized educational institutes includes, “Colonial schools are machines running on desires for a colonizer’s future and, paradoxically, desires for Indigenous futures,” further suggesting how the Westernized education system is designed and built to improve the lives of only those who are privileged enough to be considered the colonizers rather than the colonized (La Paperson, 2017).
Interviewing Arab students, who come from various backgrounds, but all attend Northwestern university in Qatar is our method of portraying the severity of language loss when it comes to Arabic, and the rise in the comfort and usage of speaking the English language. Recording students’ raw reactions and responses was the perfect way to encapsulate the sadness and sorrow many felt when having to answer with English rather than Arabic, and when having to support the cause of Westernized education rather than turn away from it.
References
Paperson, L. (2017). A Third University Is Possible (1st ed.). Univ Of Minnesota Press.
Vora, N. (2018). Teach for Arabia: American Universities, Liberalism, and Transnational Qatar (1st ed.). Stanford University Press.
[Hana Natsheh, Aalaa Al-Yacoub, Al-jazi Al-Mazroei]
I really liked the video and the questions asked. It made me wonder how would I answer these questions, and if I had similar answers to the people in the video or not.
Great piece guys! Bringing the NUQ community into your topic was a smart move to develop greater
proximity to the topic. In our discussions, we often brought up the hegemony of linguistics when it came to colonial powers. The personal experiences of our peers when it comes to the struggle between using Arabic and English as a medium of instruction was well documented. Questioning the Western system of education, however, is not justified in my opinion (it would be a bit hypocritical). Unless we can set up a system that rivals that of our colonizers, we cannot suggest an alternative.
P.S Powerful quote at the end, it really summed up your work well!
Hello guys, I really enjoyed watching your video and taking part of it. I find language to be crucial to our education, especially as it tends to shape our identity. I definitely think that the language barrier that exists as a result of attending international and Western institutions is evident in both my academic and personal life. Thus, I found that the questions have allowed me to reflect upon my personal use of language and how it has impacted me as a person.
Wow! This is a really important note to consider when speaking about colonialism. I can identify many stories of when people speak ‘broken’ English’ in an attempt to join the ‘Western’ way of life, unfortunately betraying their tradition and heritage in the process. Language is a really important aspect, especially in the topic of colonialism and power structures. Well done.
Hi guys! I really like your take on languages and the fact that you included a video featuring opinions of other members of our community. I would have to agree with Latifa on the fact that there are language barriers in both my personal and academic life because of my bilingualism. Your piece shed light on the topic really well!
Hey guys, thank you for such a thoughtful project. I loved how you brought the NU-Q community’s personal experience into the project. It feels like a strange concept of a citizen being more comfortable speaking English than their country’s language, but I guess it’s the reality of globalization in education and in general. Great piece you guys!
Hi guys! Great job on the video. I loved the way the topic was discussed and presented. I believe that language is truly a considerable part of our identities. Even though we lack speaking our mother tongue sometimes, I still think it has to be the language we feel more comfortable speaking and not preferring to talk about another langue over our own.
Hey guys, I loved watching the video and reading some of the blog posts, especially your topic. My favorite part was the quote at the end of the video, it emphasized the importance of not forgetting your mother tongue, and I love how you showed the quote in Arabic and English.
Hi guys, I really enjoyed your video as it shed some light on a very important topic, that I do not think is discussed enough here. We are living in an Arabic country, yet most of us lack basic Arabic language skills. I think your video was very powerful and managed to be engaging and also add the readings to it as well in a great way. It was an interesting video to watch, good job!
Hello, I loved your article and video showcasing how we have been impacted by colonialism. This video is eyeopening and yet relatable. As a person who has grown up in an all English speaking curriculum and continued on to an American University, I can relate. Colonization has impacted our society into focusing on the English language more so than ones mother tongue due to the English language being more accessible.
Hello,
I loved watching your video, it really resonated with me. I agree that by being in an English speaking institution for my entire life it did take away my ability to know proper Arabic. However, I am glad that my school did have Arabic lessons that was very beneficial for us. Thank you for sharing this this important topic, I hope that it will raise awareness to people who’s mother tongue is Arabic to try to not let their mother tongue slip away from them even if they go to an English speaking institution.
Hello! I love the way you presented your topic. This is something that is personal to me, and I related to most of what has been said in the video. I think it is great that you got people from the NUQ community to share their thoughts on this topic. Thanks for sharing!
Loved your choice of topic!!! Colonialism’s impact on language is felt throughout the Global South and is an important topic that needed some unpacking. In addition to the Arab world, it’s also felt very strongly in South Asia which is where I am from. In Pakistan, too, the eduation system played a big role in soldifiying the hegemony of the English language in society. I love Tamara’s comment on her highschool education being euro-centric. Although I am from a different national orogin and ethnic background, my hughschool experience was very similar. In “world history”, we were mostly taught European and western history and in teh few cases where regions from the Global South were mentioned, they were also taught from a colonial and post-colonial perspective as if our histories only started once the Europeans got to us. Similarly, the texts we read in literature were mostly by White male authors with Western origins.